Our contribution to reducing infection risks
We do not operate the hirer activities. The hall is wholly run by volunteers and they are not normally present at the hall, so there are only limited measures that it is practical for us to take that might help reduce the infection risk. The following factors and measures may be relevant for users:
• Hands can be washed in the restrooms, which are right beside the front door.
• We have fitted air hand dryers so that hands can be dried without sharing towels. (Guidance from the government
and the WHO is that air hand dryers will not spread infection.)
• We have also fitted air purifiers in the restrooms. They draw in air and kill viruses and bacteria in it. This will not
eliminate viruses instantaneously, but it seems like a helpful contribution to reduce infection risk.
• We have fitted retainers to allow internal and external doors to be held open, so that door handles need not be
touched by everyone. (For fire doors, the retainers will release if the fire alarm is triggered.)
• You are free to carry out activities in the grassy area in front of our hall, when the weather allows. Guidance
suggests that transmission risks are much lower outside than inside. (Please clean the hall floor if this causes it to
get muddy. Beware nails and ash in the area where we had our bonfire.)
• You are also free to open doors, windows and roof windows, to maximise ventilation. But please turn the heating off
if you do this.
• There is scope to operate a one-way system if a hirer judges it necessary.
• As a guide to distancing, we have fixed markers on the floor of the main hall in a square 5x5 grid, 2 metres apart.
They can still be used to judge distancing, even if the appropriate distancing for your activity is further or nearer
than 2m.
• The water was tested on 3 August 2020 for legionella. This confirmed that none is present.
Additional new hall rules
The following rules are based on government guidance. We may vary them as time goes by, but they are unlikely to be removed until social distancing is suspended. The organiser of your activity is likely to add further specific rules tailored to the activity. As a general principle, we urge you to err on the side of taking all reasonable precautions, rather than trying to determine the minimum precautions you can get away with.
1. You must not enter the hall if you or anyone in your household has COVID-19 symptoms or had them (or tested positive) in the last 14 days.
2. If you develop COVID-19 symptoms or test positive within 7 days of visiting the hall, alert Test, Track and Trace and alert the organiser of the activity you attended.
3. Do not enter if another group is using the hall.
4. Exercise your own judgement: Satisfy yourself that adequate precautions have been taken, and are being complied with. If you are not sure, do not enter.
5. Maintain social distancing:
• Do not enter if there are too many people in the building. (See below.)
• Maintain 2 metre distancing (unless your organiser tells you to use 1 metre plus mitigating measures).
• Do not linger or congregate in the foyer or outside the entrance.
• Keep to your left in the foyer (ie, circulate clockwise).
• Do not enter the kitchen. (If you need a drink or snack, bring them with you.)
• No more than one person at a time in storeroom, boiler room, toilet rooms. Wait outside at
a safe distance, without blocking traffic.
• Face away from others.
6. Wash your hands (for 20 seconds) upon entering the premises. Wash them again if you touch anything (including your face).
7. To the extent that the weather allows, keep the hall well ventilated by opening doors, windows, velux windows. But turn the thermostat down lower than the temperature outdoors. Close doors and windows on leaving.
8. Catch it, Bin it, Kill it. If you have been sneezing or coughing, please do not enter. This should mean there is little need for tissue use in the hall, but use them where necessary and dispose of safely. Then wash your hands.
9. Check the organisers of your activity have disinfected door handles, switches, tables, taps and other touch surfaces before you arrived.
10. Leave no rubbish. Take your rubbish away with you.
11. Wear a face mask or covering, if your group organiser requests (or if you wish to).
12. Vulnerable people must not enter the hall.
How many people is too many?
This will depend on factors such as whether the activity causes anyone to exhale heavily, how much movement around the hall is required, and whether the people participating fall in a vulnerable category. The organiser of the activity should determine the maximum number of people who can carry out the activity with sufficient social distancing and notify you accordingly. The government's rule is still to distance 2 metres where possible; 1 metre is only allowed if 2m is not possible and other mitigating measures (like masks) are used. The hall dimensions comfortably allow 21 stationary people, spaced 2m apart, with some gaps for movement.
